not sure if this is were this should be so anyone please move it if neccesary. Ok well i have been learning how to weld recently and i am getting pretty good. However some of my welds are pretty sloppy looking although they hold good. I am wondering is there a way to clean these welds up so they look cleaner and are more even with the project. i was welded two cylinder pieces and was not able to keep a very good looking bead all the way around.

 

Practice Practice Practice. Period.

I could come on here and tell you to just take a grinder to it and smooth it out.. but I can't do that. It would be like putting a bandaid over the wound.. only it wont heal its self.

Just because it "holds good" doesnt mean its a good weld. How are you testing this? What is the part going to be used for?

Post up some pictures of your welds and we can probably help you out a bit.

What process? Mig/Tig/Fluxcore/SMAW?

What kind of prep was done?

I'm a tool, use me.. lol... (and there are several other 'fabricators' here like Alon..)

 

I know practice is really they key. I understand that completely i am taking a class in school called industrial design more or less i can make anything. I chopped a bike up and made it into a chopper look for my little brother. i am only 17 now and know that i have alot of time to practice but i dont want to hand my little brother this thing and have him be unhappy it looks really good however the welds just have big huge beads and what not i used a mig welder. I cant post pics because im at the office. i sat i on the bike and rode it around doing wheelies and what not and they held so i guess they will hold my little brother also my teachers assistant whos a master welder said they were good welds just not pretty as for prep work really all i did was turn the pieces on the metal lathe. The tubes slide into the fork of the bike and stop were the diameter then becomes the same as the outside of the tube. i then left a notch were the weld could "sit" in Can i grind them like you said just to make it look better? Sorry 4 length and thanx for the quick reply

 

practice... practice...practice....... oh!.... practice!

you should probably grind out the welds and reweld em after alot of practice.

with welding you need to keep everything constant.... constant motions, every time it should be the same as the last. keep a nice slow pace and watch the puddles before and after the weld for good penetration... dont watch the arc itself.

in my welding class they showed us a video of what the newbie welder sees versus the experienced. at the beginning, most focus on where the bright light is in relation to the metal.... with experience you can see the metals flowing together and watch how the back end of the puddle is cooling among other things... just practice alot for the most part....

if you take a pic we can try and help you out with your problems

 

Yea you can grind it... this time.. lol..

Did you do a roset weld on the sleve? (drill a hole and fill it) That would help the strength a ton on something like this that is sleeved and would help with strengh after you grind off the 'bead'

From what I read you should turn your wire speed down. Leave your amps where they are at, but slow it down. Sounds like its building up on top and not spreading out.. for lack of a better word.

Pics would help.

Oh, and Period are your friend! Took me a couple times reading that last reply...

 

No, I did not drill a hole and fill it i just put a deeper groove at the end right before the part were the diameter got bigger. I just pushed in more on the lathe. Sould i grind the welds off completely and start over? Or should i grind them down and touch them up? Sorry about punctution, guess its why i am always failing english.

 

lol.. been there.. several times.. no worries..

Hmm.. ok nevermind. This is where pics would come in handy. From what your saying the piece you made is a machined piece that is milled down to fit inside the other tube then you left it open and basicly did a 'filet' weld. If thats the case and its not a butt weld then yea, go right ahead and grind that sucker off. Butt welds get thier strenth from the weld its self, but if its a filet then you'll be just fine. Grind it off, paint over it and your bro will never know it was there!

Now I want to see a pic of it just to see this beast! So you turned a regular bike into a choper bike? Pretty cool!

 

Filet, ya thats what my teacher called it when he showed me what to do. I'll try to get some pics up asap but dont have a digital camera, and the bike isnt finished yet. still need to make a sissy bar and some new handbars im thinking ape hangers or whatever they are called. More or less just extended the front of the bike out not to much just a first project.

 

A little bondo before you paint will help a bit too....